Sustainable agriculture Essay Example for Free

Sustainable agriculture Essay From her educational text, Jenny Ridgwell states, â€Å"Many supermarkets stock a range of ‘organic’ foods; these are normally more expensive than other foods, since it is more difficult to match the volume of perfect fruits and vegetables that are produced by intensive farming. Organic foods are grown using traditional methods of faming without artificial fertilisers, pesticides or intensive growing systems. People who eat organic food believe that it tastes better and that it is better for the environment. † (Examining food and nutrition. ) Having sourced this statement, I have studied its content and found it to be a very good definition of organic foods, showing the main features of organic food and people’s perceptions of organic products. Secondly according to a newspaper article from 2001, about the cost of going organic ‘at least 80 per cent of a cow’s feed would have had to be organically grown. Veterinary drugs would have been allowed if animals fell ill, but there would have been a ban on routine use of antibiotics to prevent infections’ (Times Newspapers Ltd 2001) . This article reference shows the implications placed on farmers dealing in organic produce, yet it gives us an idea about the health related aspects of organic foods, such as them containing no artificial substances, as an end product and during the production process. In consideration of my viewpoints I have chosen to interview two people from my immediate family, who have separate roles within the home. My first viewpoint was from my mother, who is the main breadwinner of the family and sources the food for most meals, yet she responded negatively in the session. In her statement she mentioned, â€Å"I do not buy organic produce as the price is much more expensive compared to standard produce of which you receive a greater quantity for the price with little quality compromised. † On the other hand my second interviewee was my father, a previous agriculturist. He replied positively to the interview remarking that, â€Å"I would buy organic food just for the taste alone, but knowing the health benefits and what hard work is involved it is only a privilege to accumulate great food and give the tradition a well deserved boost. From my discussions with the interviewees it has become apparent that they know the nature of organic food, the advantages and the disadvantages. To summarise, it is clear that organic food is not top of their priorities yet it is still considered and acknowledged in the day to day running of a household. Many people say organic food is better than non-organic foods, in many cases, they are healthier because ‘with processed foods there can be hidden fats, salt and sugar that can go in during the processing. Food certified as organic is not allowed to contain genetically modified ingredients. ’news. bbc. co. uk (Accessed 02/10/12). â€Å"A four year European Union funded study found that with regards to organic food compared to regular food: There are 40% more antioxidants in organic food, milk that is taken from organic herds contains 90% more antioxidants, and there are higher levels of beneficial minerals. † www. dosomething. org (Accessed 27/09/12). These findings clarify that my second interviewee’s opinion is wide spread on behalf of health issues throughout our consumers of organic produce. While many people insist organic foods contain more health benefits, according to university studies, ‘overall, there was no discernible difference between the nutritional content, although the organic food was 30% less likely to contain pesticides. ’ www. bbc. co. uk (Accessed 19/09/12). This information emphasizes my mother’s statement about â€Å"little quality compromised† this also highlights her point that we pay more for less, in more aspects than one, perhaps maybe even including our vitamins and minerals. There are many unknown benefits of organic food that provides a great advantage over non-organic produce. Many of these advantages are in connection with health, especially â€Å"children and foetuses who are most vulnerable to pesticide exposure due to their less-developed immune systems and because their bodies and brains are still developing. Exposure at an early age can cause developmental delays, behavioural disorders, and motor dysfunction. † www. helpguide. org (Accessed 27/09/12) As well as organic food differing from non-organic foods in nutrition they also differ in price, the reason for organic produce being more expensive to buy ‘is that agro ¬chemicals are designed to make food cheaper to produce. Agro ¬chemicals were not developed with nutrition, taste or the ecology in mind. The chemical designers’ remit was to make mass production of food cheaper. So what we get is a cheap but inferior product. ’ www. organicfoodee. com (Accessed 02/10/12) Much of this extra cost is due to the products necessary for produce to be classified as organic. A statement from Humphrey feeds revealed ‘organic wheat is costing us currently about 245 pound a tonne, whereas conventional wheat, most of what we had bought is about 120 pound a tonne,’ showing the costs implicated on organic producers. (Food Programme, BBC Radio 4, 12th Oct 2008) In my opinion organic foods are of a much better quality, taste and are generally less harming to the environment, this is severely reflected in their price and in many cases has extreme effects on food choices. ‘Organic farming has always tried to anticipate the challenges farmers are now facing, such as payments, and now the Nitrate and Phosphate Regulations. Organic farming has a less intensive nature and integrated approach, so organic producers have generally been able to meet these challenges without too much difficulty. ’ www. dardni. gov.uk (Accessed 02/10/12). This statement from the Department of Agriculture makes reference to the differences in farming techniques and the problems faced by non-organic producers, but to a certain extent organic farming goes back to nature, for example, farmers use crop rotation to fertilise the soil increasing stores of carbon in the soil, eventually ‘we could offset at least 23% of agricultures greenhouse emissions. ’ www. soilassociation. org (Accessed 19/09/12). This refers to mainly non-organic producers; however organic producers face hefty stipulation over what they can and can’t do. In particular the Department of Agriculture imply a regulation in which the period of slurry spreading is suited to the weather. An article from a farming newspaper last week read; ‘The closed period is due to come into operation on October 15, after which farmers caught spreading slurry would normally face prosecution. (Farm Week, September 27th, 2012). This has a greater impact on organic producers due to their lack of permitted resources, implicating that they can only fertilise soil at particular times throughout the year compared to non-organic producers, nonetheless in my opinion this has great consideration for the environment. In regards to helping the environment ‘organic farming practices use 30% less energy, less water, and obviously no pesticides,’ hence reduces groundwater pollution. www. thechicecologist. com (Accessed 02/10/12) In conclusion, I have found my research on organic food to be practical and obtained from a range of different sources to give adequate reasons for purchasing and consuming organic produce.

Millays View on Death as Depicted in Renascence :: Millay Renascence Essays

Millay's View on Death as Depicted in Renascence As Edna St. Vincent Millay begins her second paragraph of Renascence, she describes herself as joyous of her coming death. Millay has been telling the reader of her frustration and anguish as she lies on the ground burdened by the sin of her life. She cries out in sheer pain, "Ah, awful weight!" She actually describes herself as "craving" death. The dying experience was becoming so painful for Millay, that she just wanted the process to be finished. The second paragraph welcomes Millay into her eternity and in turn she becomes relaxed and satisfied about her passing from life. Millay takes on a very difficult task of not only describing the final stage of death as a joyous thing, but also attempting to persuade her audience into believing the same thing. Millay is associating death with happiness. This unlikely comparison allows the reader to become relaxed about the hardships the author was facing in the earlier passages of the poem. As the earth gave way and Millay sank softly and perfectly six feet under the ground, the reader celebrates as if a runner was finally crossing the finish line. Comparing death to a successful situation is an unusual way of looking at the end of life. Yet, this view of death is a positive outlook and is quite wonderful as opposed to other literary views of death such as "death: the gatekeeper of hell who has conquered the Earth." Millay makes the reader believe that the sinking earth is more of a pair of open hands waiting to hold the weary soul of man. Death is a chance of catching up on that sleep that you never quite caught up on. Another image that Millay gives the reader is that of a mother embracing her child. Mother Earth welcomes home her tired child and allows him to rest his head upon her soft breast. She runs her hands through his hair and lays them on his brow as to cool him off. She whispers her tired child to sleep through the sweet and friendly sound of rain. Through persuading the audience to believe that death is a wonderful and relaxing thing, she takes on a very difficult task. A common thought of the end of life is that it is a ceasing of all things good.

Learning Team Objective Essay

During weeks four and five, we learned all about methods a company can have a picture of their overall fiscal rankings. A few of the subjects dealt with include using a report of cash flows to observe the coming in and going out of cash, assessing fiscal reports, the way to report the issuance of the various kinds of stock and dividend payments, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act influence. A report of cash flows indicates the receipt and payment of cash for the organization. The direct method is desired by the FASB, even though both ways are acceptable, and shows cash receipts and payments in operations whereas the indirect method changes net income which does not influence cash. To get commenced with a report of cash flows, the organization must change its net income from an accrual basis to a cash basis. Ultimately, an organization may decide their free cash flow to find out the amount of money is remaining after adjustments for capital expenses and dividends have been completed. The 3 methods of assessment are the horizontal, vertical, and ratio analysis. Horizontal assesses the fiscal report data during a period of time. This decides the increase or reduction which has occurred. Vertical analysis reports every item like a percent of base sum. This decides what amount of the total assets are existing assets or what amount of the net sales are selling expenditures. Ratio analysis reports the connection amongst the chosen items of the reports. This decides liquidity of assets, profits of the organization, and the solvency ratio informs if the organization is likely to survive over a long interval of time. Investors are able to use the cash flow report to find out if the organization has adequate cash to increase operations and pay dividends. The organization may use the information in the cash flow report to assess the effectiveness of operations. Cash flow from funding activities shows any modifications in debt, loans, or dividends. Issuing stock or rising long-term borrowing is actually a cash inflow. Paying dividends or decreasing liability is a cash outflow. Moreover, cash flow from operating activities calculates the modifications in cash flows from operations needing a calculation of the modifications in account balances in the balance sheet between accounting intervals. Scenarios may happen which result in unethical accounting routines because of lacking in the financial controls set down and followed by higher administration people. All six of these methods not just require to be set up but they must be adopted and enforced as well by way of assessment and follow-up. In case even one of the controls isn’t set up in that case the opportunity may become open for unethical conduct. For instance, in case you don’t specify duty by just having one individual accountable in that case it results in a lack of accountability if something is incorrect. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was put into operation in 2002 as a result of great number of unethical and fraudulent scenarios abounding in companies. This Act says that all publicly operated organizations should have noted internal fiscal controls in the organization. Organizations must submit an assessment of the effectiveness and value of their internal controls with their conclusion of year fiscal package. Regular outside audits are carried out to make sure compliance by the companies with this Act. In case violations are found anytime, penalties and fines might be enacted upon higher administration level people to include imprisonment. To conclude, over weeks 4 and 5 we have learned all about the ways of creating cash flow reports, the way to apply the 3 different ratios when deciding how nicely or lousy the organization is performing fiscally, the way to report journal entries of the issuance of stock and common stock and the way to announce and enter payments from dividends, and lastly the way to stay ethical in accounting and be in conformity with SOX.

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